The next privacy battle in Europe Is over this new law

The new European data privacy legislation is so stringent that it could kill off data-driven online services and chill innovations like driverless cars, tech industry groups warn.

These industry alarms are not over the General Data Protection Regulation, or G.D.P.R., a tough privacy law that went into effect in the European Union. Instead, the cause is an even stricter privacy law that’s pending.

It is called the ePrivacy Regulation, and it specifically protects the confidentiality of electronic communications. If the current draft prevails, the law will require Skype, WhatsApp, iMessage, video games with player messaging and other electronic services that allow private interactions to obtain people’s explicit permission before placing tracking codes on users' devices or collecting data about their communications.